US COAST PILOT

What do you do when you find yourself in the vicinity of shoaling and a ripping current, and have no guest or crewmember onboard who knows the local area.  Does this sound like the beginning of a long and tragic story?  Well, it doesn't have to be.

You never know when you will arrive at an unfamiliar inlet after dark, get caught in the worst weather of the decade, or find yourself in some other precarious situation.  If you were in your "own backyard," you might be aware of that swift current in the inlet, or that submerged obstruction near the edge of the channel.  That's what we call "local knowledge."

The Department of Commerce can put you one step ahead of many problems, with information from the National Ocean Service (part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).  They publish the "United States Coast Pilot," a nine book series broken down by region.

The nine regional Coast Pilots provide local knowledge for coastal U.S. waters, the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Great Lakes.  You would be wise to have the Coast Pilots onboard for your area and any areas that you intend to visit.  These publications have been part of coastal navigation since a legislative enactment in 1947.

The Coast Pilot is intended to supplement the navigational information on nautical charts.  It starts with a "general information" section that covers a wide variety of topics.  It includes bridges, ferries, height clearances, listings of government agencies and publications, and weather broadcast sources, just to name a few.

There is an explanation of distress signals and communication procedures, aids to navigation (buoys, dayboards, etc.), fog signals, electronic navigation (loran, GPS, etc.), vessel light characteristics, VHF radio use and more.

There is a section on "Navigation Regulations" that includes anchoring, drawbridge operation regulations, "slow speed" zones, towing procedures, vessel traffic management, and many other things.  The navigation regs section points out very specific requirements for limited areas in the region.  The primary focus of the section on regulations is safety.

The bulk of the text in any of the nine regional Coast Pilots is devoted to providing "local knowledge" for the average mariner who is passing through an unfamiliar area.  There are aerial photos of inlets and prominent coastal features in addition to a narrative explanation of local conditions.  Local knowledge for inlets is particularly important since currents, shoaling, and shifting channels are common occurrences in those areas.

The Coast Pilots will guide you toward a safe anchorage and guide you away from many hazards.  It will inform you of the available facilities in each port, commercial fishing areas, harbor pilot operations, and local magnetic disturbances that can affect your compass.  It's like having a local mariner onboard to warn you before you run into trouble.

The Coast Pilot Appendix is also full of good information including climatological tables for the region, distance tables (mileage between ports), and a mixed bag of useful reference material.

Until next time, I wish you clear skies, fair winds, and calm seas!